Will science and higher education in East Asia equal or overtake that of the United States, or even the United States and Europe together? Much is said about state authority, university autonomy, and academic freedom in East Asia, particularly China, and the implications for creativity. This is not a simple problem. China is not like Soviet Russia was in higher education and science. Kishore Mahbubani observes: "Although China is still a somewhat politically closed society, it is a closed

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... y with an open mind. " 1 The universities welcome visitors and learn freely from abroad. They publish in the global literature. Stereotyping claims that East Asian classrooms are inherently didactic, and critical thinking is absent, are not confirmed by research. Given the growth of high-citation papers in the sciences, it is difficult to argue that East Asian science in general lacks critical thought or creativity, though recurring interventions by China's officials in what should be academic peer decisions about research are a serious problem (one that is not confined to China, or to East Asia). The evolution of higher education in China is more top-down than in America, 2 but as noted in the previous chapter, universities sustain a devolved authority within the comprehensive Sinic state. At the same time, for good or ill, the central state retains the scope to intervene in individual institutions as it sees fit. In Singapore and Japan, the university president is selected by the governing council of the university, not the state. Nevertheless, in all East Asian systems, normal operations depend on a high degree of synchrony between institutions and the state. This can be conservatizing, particularly in relation to disciplines that touch the work of government, though from time to time, state intervention may also contribute to creative output by lifting the performance bar, encouraging 15 Higher Education in China and the United States